Here is the pronoun system for Igassik.
1st
Singular Plural
Nominative ni Ti
Accusative es suip
2nd
Singular Plural
Nominative mo mas
Accusative taev kol
The 3rd persons are a bit more difficult to put in a single chart on a
2-dimensional surface. So here we go.
Formal - used for civic and religious leaders, and parents-in-law.
Singular Plural
Nominative krae mi
Accusative sor laf
Familiar - used for family members and close friends.
Singular Plural
Nominative keom nos
Accusative Doy oen
Proximate - used for casual acquaintances and strangers who are within
eye-sight.
Singular Plural
Nominative now thel
Accusative he na
Distal - used for casual acquaintances and strangers who are out of eye-sight.
Singular Plural
Nominative miu dhi
Accusative Del koe
Proximate and Distal are not distinct levels of formality. They are equal
to each other. They just encode spatial (and metaphorical) distance from
the speaker.
Animal - used for animals, plants, other people's babies, and social
deviants (criminals, unmarried people over a certain age [yet to be
determined], "freaks"). I don't really like the name for this category, but
I'm following the terminology used for some Zapotecan languages (which
inspired this system).
Singular Plural
Nominative hiu oes
Accusative ew ngi
The categories are only a general guideline. If the speaker and a family
member are not very close or are angry with each other, the speaker can use
the proximate/distal category. If they flat out hate each other, then they
can use animal - but that is an extreme situation. Poor leaders are never
refered to as Familiar - if they are not worthy of being Formal, then they
drop to the proximate/distal category. Animals are only raised to the
Proximate/Distal level in stories; but plants are always Animal. Sometimes
social deviants are also Proximate/Distal, such as when they do something
extra good - but that is only a temporary usage, they return to Animal soon
afterwards.
So, what do y'all think?
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Marcus Smith
AIM: Anaakoot
"When you lose a language, it's like
dropping a bomb on a museum."
-- Kenneth Hale
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